Too little, too late: Cards already showed hand on Kyler Murray
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray warms up before an NFL wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, Calif., on Jan. 17. Credit: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
What should have been one of the most joyous accomplishments in Kyler Murray’s career as an NFL quarterback has quickly devolved into a controversy that may linger for quite some time. Especially if the former No. 1 overall pick doesn’t come through on his goal of delivering a Super Bowl championship in Arizona.
Almost as soon as the ink dried on Murray’s signature on a new contract that featured a whopping $230.5 million in additional salary, the news that the contract included a clause that required Murray to spend at least four hours a week in independent study during the season invited criticism and second-guessing that quickly resulted in the clause being removed altogether.
But erasing the requirement from the contract won’t eliminate questions about just how the team views Murray’s off-field preparation.
Murray himself was understandably agitated at the fallout over the clause, which initially was reported by the NFL Network. He called an impromptu news conference on Thursday and told reporters he considered the debate over the clause “disrespectful” and “almost a joke.”
“Of course, we all watch film,” he said. “That doesn’t need to be questioned. I refuse to let my work ethic and my preparation be in question. I’ve put in an incomprehensible amount of time in what I do.”
That may very well be true, but it is highly unusual to have a specific passage in a contract that sets a minimum time allotment for off-field preparation. In fact, it is almost unheard of. Of all NFL players, quarterbacks are the ones who spend the most time preparing for games, and it’s not even close for second. And Murray insists that he puts in the work off the field for a Cardinals team that made the playoffs for the first time in his career in 2021. Arizona was beaten, 34-11, by the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams in the playoffs, with Murray throwing for only 137 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Murray, 24, made it clear he wanted a new contract in the offseason, and the team obliged by signing him to the richest deal in franchise history. But the second-guessing over the preparation clause took away much of the celebration.
“It’s too late,” former Patriots pass rusher Willie McGinest said Friday on NFL Network. “I understand you’re trying to make everything better now, [but] you put the clause in for a reason.”
McGinest won three Super Bowl titles with teammate Tom Brady in New England, so he knows what great quarterback play looks like — on and off the field.
“I watched the best to ever do it do it for years,” McGinest said. “It takes a lot. You’ve got to know the game. There are no days off. You’ve got to be a student of the game.”
McGinest called the initial inclusion of the clause “kind of a wake-up call” for Murray, and it’s too late not to think that. “It’s already out. Now [the Cardinals] are trying to control it. For them to put it in there initially says a lot.”
Murray is a uniquely gifted quarterback who certainly has the talent to take his team a long way, maybe even as far as the Super Bowl. And he’d like nothing better than to play on his home field in Super Bowl LVII next February at State Farm Stadium.
The Cardinals are all-in on him, but they didn’t help themselves — or Murray — with putting in the fine print on his new deal.
Even after taking it out.
Jackson’s payday soon?
The Ravens have been ready, willing and able to get a new contract done with Lamar Jackson for months.
That time might soon be here.
The Ravens hope to get a new deal done before the regular season, and the one-time MVP’s new deal will dwarf what once seemed like a monster contract when Joe Flacco signed a $120.6 million deal in 2013. In fact, Jackson’s deal will come close to doubling that number.
The Cardinals and Browns have helped set some contract parameters with deals given to Murray ($230.5 million) and Deshaun Watson ($230 million), and now that Jackson is open to reworking his deal, it might not be long before he hits the jackpot.
“We’ve having a mutual conversation” and “we’re keeping it in house,” Jackson said this past week after reporting for training camp. He had stayed away from offseason workouts.
What’s unusual about Jackson’s situation is that he doesn’t have an agent, which creates some challenges for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta. But the fact that Jackson for the first time has publicly acknowledged talks are going on is prompting optimism among league executives that a potential deal is close. Stay tuned.
Daboll, Toney clicking
In case you’d forgotten, Kadarius Toney didn’t make a great first impression with new Giants coach Brian Daboll, especially after passing up the beginning portion of offseason workouts. Yes, the sessions were voluntary, but it’s widely understood around the league that coaches much prefer to have players show up. And the fact that Toney, last year’s first-round pick, opted not to be there for the first-year coach . . . well, let’s just say it was a rocky start.
But give Daboll credit. Rather than hold it against Toney, he took a more patient route. And once Toney did show up, Daboll tried to get to know the receiver on a more personal level. That led to Toney sharing his passion for producing music . . . which led to Daboll having the team play a song during warmups that was created by “Yung Joka” — Toney’s stage name.
What a great idea, and what a unique way of trying to reach a player whose talent is unquestioned but whose personality can be combustible, as the Giants saw at times last year. Newsday’s Giants beat writer, Tom Rock, wrote an in-depth dispatch in Saturday’s Newsday, and it’s worth your time to read it and get a feel for how Daboll interacts with a player who can be a big part of the solution moving forward.
Seattle wasting DK deal?
The good news for Seahawks fans: Wide receiver DK Metcalf, who reported to training camp but initially stayed out of practice drills, signed a new three-year deal worth $72 million.
The not-so-good news: With either Geno Smith or Drew Lock set to replace Russell Wilson at quarterback, they may be wasting at least the first year of the deal. Neither quarterback can be considered a worthy successor to Wilson, and only a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo — who is available — would make sense to get the most out of one of the league’s top receivers.
Metcalf’s deal also might help the 49ers at another spot. With Deebo Samuel still looking for a new contract, the Metcalf contract offers a potential structure and salary the Niners might use to extend Samuel’s deal.
Darnold-Mayfield duel
The Panthers deferred to returning starter Sam Darnold in their first training camp practice, with coach Matt Rhule putting him with the starters. A day later, it was Baker Mayfield working with the 1’s for the first time since being traded from Cleveland.
And on Friday, the two quarterbacks alternated first-string duties.
This will be one of the most closely watched quarterback competitions in a league that no longer features many unsettled situations, and the outcome has important ramifications for the start of the season.
Consider: The opener is at home against the Browns, who passed over Mayfield when they traded for former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who still faces four lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and assault while receiving massages during his time in Houston.
Last year, it was Darnold who faced his old team in Week 1, as he and the Panthers beat Zach Wilson and the Jets in North Carolina.
Around the league
There couldn’t be a better landing spot for Julio Jones than with the Bucs. The 33-year-old receiver, once the league’s top player at his position during a Hall of Fame-caliber career with the Falcons, signed a one-year, $6 million deal to have Tom Brady as his quarterback. That’s the same Tom Brady who shattered the dreams of Jones and every other Falcons player, coach and fan with his epic comeback from a 28-3 deficit to win Super Bowl LI, 34-28, in overtime.
Jones, who last season played for the Titans, won’t have nearly as much pressure on him in Tampa as he did in Atlanta, and after two straight seasons marred by injury, Jones can be a solid No. 2 behind Mike Evans.
Commanders defensive end Chase Young suffered an ACL tear in his right knee last November, meaning he will have had close to 10 months’ time to rehab before the start of the regular season. But coach Ron Rivera already has ruled out Young for the opener and possibly longer. Why the delay from the usual nine-month rehab for a torn ACL? Because Young’s surgery was a bit less straightforward than most; he required a graft of part of his healthy left patellar tendon to offer additional healing for the right knee. The Commanders will be careful with the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year before putting him back in the lineup.
Former Rams receiver Robert Woods missed last year’s Super Bowl run because of a knee injury, but he is back to full strength after signing with Tennessee and should be a go when the Titans host the Giants in Week 1 . . . Jamal Adams is expected back for the season opener after suffering a broken finger in practice early last week. Not the best news for a player who hasn’t lived up to the trade that sent him from the Jets to Seattle in 2020 in exchange for two first-round draft picks. The Seahawks have since signed Adams to a four-year, $70 million contract extension. He has missed eight games with shoulder and hand injuries.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
